A Day Out With Tracey and Jenny

Let's treat this planet as if we plan to stay here and not as if it is a disposable item. Mars is not ready yet and never will be.

Monte Hummel

      05 December 2020

     Two of the participants on one of my recent COVID walks were Tracey and Jenny, both of whom are very enthusiastic about nature, and were quite thrilled with the birds they saw on that walk. I promised them I would take them to the north shore of Lake Ontario for "Waterfowl 101" and I was delighted to meet up with them to spend a day's birding, and hopefully to help them to expand their knowledge of the various species that would greet us out on the lake.

DesJardins Canal, Dundas, ON

     Our usual starting point is at the DesJardins Canal, and we headed directly there.

     Sadly, the first experience of the location was marred for Tracey and Jenny by the activities of Homo ignoramus and that noteworthy subspecies Homo ignoramus deformius. Taxonomy usually has this species ranked as Homo sapiens but it hardly seems to fit the bill.

     Why would you dispose of your unwanted Christmas frippery correctly when you could just throw it out in the parking area at the canal? That's in the spirit of the season, isn't it?

     And as for those old tyres, why pay a small fee to have them disposed of in an environmentally responsible way when you can toss them on the ground?

     After all, having just bought four new tyres who can afford a couple of bucks to get rid of the old ones? They're just junk don't you know?

     And so is this.

     And this.

     And this.

     And so were the plastic lids with plastic straws Tracey was picking up. And all the other crap.

     I tell you, we humans are a sorry species.

     We moved away from the area sullied by trash to take a picture of Tracey and Jenny to memorialize the day.

     There was still an abundance of the detritus of humanity present, not quite as visible and buried in the vegetation, but there nonetheless.

     I wonder if this Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) looked down on us with disdain.

     Let me confess at this point, that I am not nearly as diligent as Miriam when it comes to taking pictures, and I have little else to offer from this stop. Later in the post, to illustrate some of the waterfowl, I have delved into the archives, but the pictures are drawn from that location, so they are not lacking in integrity.

All species: Canada Goose, Mallard, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Ring-billed Gull, Red-tailed Hawk, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Carolina Wren, House Sparrow, Common Redpoll, American Goldfinch, American Tree Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Northern Cardinal  Total: 15

Urquart Butterfly Garden, Dundas, ON

     It is an easy walk from the canal to the butterfly garden, with a great view looking back over the canal.

     It will be evident to all that there are no butterflies present in December, but the area is often quite birdy, especially for sparrows and other seed-eating species, but not today unfortunately.

     It was a good chance to get another picture of Tracey and Jenny at the information board.

     The walk back along the shore of the canal was characterized by excellent views of several Downy Woodpeckers (Dryobates pubescens), a familiar species, but always an exquisite encounter.

All species: Ring-billed Gull, American Crow  Total: 2

Grindstone Creek, Burlington, ON

     As we pulled into the parking area, a couple of Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) were feeding on berries, but they left and did not return to say hello.

     We saw our first Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) of the day, gloriously handsome birds, and a thrill to see.

     It was a very agreeable sighting for Tracey and Jenny, for they had seen Trumpeter Swans earlier in the year at Wye Marsh, near Midland, ON, where many of them breed.

     This duo actually came over to greet us, and that pleased us greatly.

     Perhaps they even wished to have a chat.

     It was at this location that Jenny saw her first Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) and was quite taken with the name! We may give it to her as a nickname, so tickled with it was she!

     The birds were too far out across the bay to get a picture, so I am including a picture of a male from our folder.

 All species: Trumpeter Swan, Mallard, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Ring-billed Gull, Cedar Waxwing.  Total: 6

Hendrie Valley Sanctuary, Burlington, ON

     This trail leads right off from Grindstone Creek and we walked a couple of hundred metres along it before turning back.

     It was characterized by many birds of several species, with lots of Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) feeding from people's hands, with White-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) and even the odd Downy Woodpecker being brave enough to give it a try.

     One group ahead of us, having had enough of hand-feeding, dumped their seed on the ground, and a group of birds immediately took advantage of this bonanza.

     As you can see in the picture above, at one point there were six Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) enjoying the feast, and they were joined at times by Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) and House Sparrows (Passer domesticus). 

     Cardinals do have a way of stealing the show.

     Just as we were leaving I spotted a very distinctive species, a rare migrant in fact, Pulchra rufus, which arrived at our latitude from the British Isles via a circuitous route, having made landfall here after transiting through Mexico.

     Until quite recently, I had never seen this enigmatic species, but I suspect that it may not be difficult to spot again.

All species: Mallard, Ring-billed Gull, Turkey Vulture, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Mockingbird, House Finch, Common Redpoll, Northern Cardinal. Total: 12

LaSalle Park and Marina, Burlington, ON

     It was lunch time when we arrived at LaSalle and it was pleasant enough, with the temperature right around zero, to sit on a bench and eat outside. 

      In no time at all, we were joined by a couple of Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis), hoping to glean a few scraps from careless or beneficent humans, but they were sorely disappointed, I am afraid.

     Tracey and Jenny both commented on the beauty of the bird, proving without a doubt what smart ladies they are!

     A male Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) swam by at a leisurely pace in the bay right in front of us.

     These are pretty special lunchtime companions.

     After lunch we took my telescope and went over to the west side of the harbour to scan the water. We could see with the naked eye that there were large numbers of ducks, most of which were new for my eager companions. A large raft of Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis) was especially attractive, as are all stifftails (highly recommended: Ruddy Ducks & Other Stifftails, Paul A. Johnsgard and Montserrat Carbonell [1996]).

     It is here that we saw a lone American Coot (Fulica americana); doubtless there were others somewhere hidden among the thousands of ducks bobbing up and down on the gentle swell.

     The same could be said of the only Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) of the day.

     There were many White-winged Scoters (Melanitta fusca) and I thought I saw a few Surf Scoters (Melanitta perspicillata) but they were too far out to be sure.

      As might be expected Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) were quite common, some fairly close to enable excellent viewing.

Greater Scaup ♂

Greater Scaup ♀

     We saw but one Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) in contrast to the many Trumpeter Swans present.

     As we meandered around the lake, and along the woodland trail abutting the water, we spotted Canvasback (Aythya valsineria) several times. It is a handsome, sleek duck, always quite regal to my eye.

      Mallards (Anas platyrynchos) as expected seemed to be keeping company with every other species, the males looking especially jaunty with their curly tail feathers.

     I recall seeing only one male Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) but females were quite common.

     This one seemed to be trying its hand at snorkelling!

     A single drake Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) has been present for some weeks now and seems destined to spend the winter at LaSalle. It is indeed among the very handsomest of ducks.

     The treed area of the park slopes down quite steeply to the water and erosion can seriously undermine some of the root structures of shallowly anchored trees.

     On the way back along the boardwalk, where Tracey was delighted to be able to hand-feed a White-breasted Nuthatch, we met Franc and Carol who had been to Niagara Falls and had called in at LaSalle on the way home. We all decided to go to Woodland Cemetery together to see if the Eastern Screech Owls (Megascops asio) were in an obliging mood today.

All species: Canada Goose. Mute Swan, Trumpeter Swan, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Canvasback, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser, Ruddy Duck, Mourning Dove, American Coot, Ring-billed Gull, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Sparrow, Northern Cardinal.  Total: 26

Woodland Cemetery, Burlington, ON

     The owls decided that they were not going to put themselves on display for gawking humans, and we left with out success. Maybe next time.....

All species: Canada Goose, Bald Eagle, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee. Total: 4

Sioux Lookout Park, Burlington, ON

     Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), normally a reliable species in winter on Lake Ontario had eluded us all day, so we decided to give it one last try at Sioux Lookout Park. There were huge rafts of ducks at this location, but other than for small numbers of Common Goldeneye close inshore, all were very far out. In fact, at the horizon, thousands upon thousands

of ducks were staging a fly past, but it was impossible to determine the species given the waning light and the sheer distance.

     We did, however, pick up one pair of Long-tailed Ducks in the scope. Success right at the end of the day!

Long-tailed Duck ♂

Long-tailed Duck ♀

All species: Mallard, White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, Common Goldeneye, Ring-billed Gull. Total: 5

General Comment

     A day spent away from one's immediate environs is a welcome change during this period of COVID-restricted movement, and I was fortunate to spend it birding with two charming companions, whose company I enjoyed greatly. I certainly hope we can do again!